About this vendor
St. Cecilia Music Center is a historic wedding venue situated in the middle of downtown Grand Rapids, MI. Since its 1894 dedication, this facility has been a treasure to the local area as a place where people can enjoy beautiful music. It has also served as an unforgettable setting for weddings and other special events over the years.
St. Cecilia Music Center offers a wide range of programs for music education and performance besides serving as a wedding venue. When booking this facility for your big day, you’ll be able to choose from numerous event spaces to help bring your dream wedding to life. If your reception includes a longer guest list, Dexter Ballroom may be just what you’re looking for. It features elegant hardwood floors, west-facing windows, two Steinway grand pianos, a platform stage, and a large kitchen. Guests can access this second-floor ballroom via stairs or elevator, and it can accommodate 250 standing guests or 184 for a plated dinner. For celebrations on the more intimate side, the venue has the Wege Recital Hall. It has enough space for 100 for a standing reception or 48 for a plated dinner. The room also boasts two grand pianos, a platform stage, a small kitchenette, and a fireplace. Its pillared walls add a sophisticated touch to any celebration. More-private gatherings may be held in the Mika Music Library, which provides couples and their loved ones with a warm, inviting atmosphere. It has walls with oak paneling, parquet floors, a piano, a kitchen, and a fireplace, and it can seat up to 48 guests. In addition, couples may avail of these and the venue’s other luxurious event spaces for their wedding ceremonies.
Amenities + details
Ceremony Area
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
Liability Insurance
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
Covered Outdoors Space
On-Site Accommodations
Outdoor Event Space
Business Attributes
- Woman-owned Business
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
- Elopement
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
Settings
- Ballroom
- Historic Venue
- Library
Venue Service Offerings
- Bar & Drinks
- Bar Rental
- Food & Catering
- Service Staff
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help
you make those big decisions with ease.
5
out of 5.020 reviews
Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 9
Our wedding here was amazing! The building is gorgeous and Nadine was super easy to work with. We used the projector in the ballroom to play MarioKart which was so fun! It was also...
very convenient to have everything in one place; two suites for getting ready, a room for the ceremony, and the ballroom was the perfect reception hall.
St Cecilia's was a wonderful wedding venue for us! From Cocktail hour in the library downstairs to elegant reception in the ballroom, it was perfect! Being able to use the grand pi...
anos for live music created the most amazing atmosphere.
Nadine was THE BEST to work with. I could not have asked for a better venue coordinator. She was so attentive to detail and helped the day run like a dream! I could not recommend St Cs enough!
St. Cecelia was genuinely perfect. It is an absolutely stunning and historic space, made more beautiful by the several grand pianos that can be used throughout your event.
We boo...
ked the venue nearly 18 months out and had plenty of communication from the venue coordinator throughout the booking process and leading up to our wedding.
As a queer couple, we felt very safe, affirmed, and celebrated by the staff.
In terms of space, we had exclusive access to the building from noon until midnight, even though we opted to only rent the Dexter Ballroom upstairs for our ceremony+ cocktail hour and reception. We had access to all of the getting ready spaces, the main floor “quiet” room which guests used as a sensory friendly space, as well as the large ballroom.
We had just over 100 guests and were able to have a large dance floor, an “aisle” for the ceremony, and plenty of space for the buffet and bar.
We had about a dozen friends in the getting ready space and could have had a few more.
There were so many moments made easy, seamless, or special by the venue and the event coordinator (Nadine) - too many to list. I could not recommend this venue more!
We had our wedding at St. Cecilia Music Center, and the whole experience was phenomenal. The venue itself is beautiful, and the staff were so incredibly kind and helpful. Cannot re...
commend enough!
We could not have been happier with our choice of venue. The folks at St. Cecilia's were wonderful and easy going to work with (thanks Nadine and co!!). We did the ceremony in the ...
Wege recital hall with about 80 people and reception in the Dexter ballroom. Rental was from noon to midnight. The quotes in the initial meeting process were straight-forward with SCMC (I can't say that about other vendors who promised certain things were included then come to find out things cost extra in the contract! SCMC impressed us with their honest pricing process compared to competitors). It was so comfortable having the two changing suites with showers on site, with a lounge area for the wedding party. The coat room that looked like it was for concerts was very nice for the guests as well. The ballroom floor was awesome for dancing and had tons of space for the reception dinner. The building is so pretty as is, there was not much decoration needed. Overall, the location was easy to get to and accessible for our family members with elevator and small parking lot onsite. A+ loved this venue, will recommend it to others whenever I can.
The AMAZING:
1) The venue staff (especially Nadine) was so incredibly helpful throughout the entire process from start to finish. She helped with anything that I could even imagine...
and brought every single detail to life. She has next level communication, and I felt incredibly seen and heard throughout it all.
2) The venue itself is perfect - my husband and I received endless compliments regarding the beauty of St Cecilia. Because it was so naturally gorgeous, I didn't have to spend much time decorating at all - it was a dream to set up and take down. I could go on and on about how beautiful the space was.
3) On-site free parking! This was a HUGE benefit as I didnt have to ask my guests nor vendors to find on-street parking.
4) List of suggested caterers (we went with Distinctive) was helpful because it narrowed down our search initially. The day of the wedding, the caterers were incredibly familiar with the venue and knew exactly where to go - I wasn't asked a single logistics questions from the catering team.
The Constructive Notes:
1) The contracted time for the venue is noon-midnight meaning you cannot get in any earlier than noon the day of your wedding. This was fine with me because I had minimal decorations and was incredibly organized and had my bridal party and some family friends help set up.
If you are not a highly meticulous bride with agreed help for the day of, I would consider hiring a day-of coordinator to aid in the flow. My timeline included having hair and makeup done for the party at various times so we were not together during the getting ready because we were all setting up - if this is something that is important to you, I would definitely consider a coordinator to do all the work that myself and my party did.
2) Martha's Vineyard is the sole provider for a bar. If you would like a bar at your event, you must ensure that Martha's Vineyard is available and secured for your date PRIOR to even putting a deposit down on St Cecilia. This was difficult because Martha's Vineyard has less than stellar communication and often would only email back once every couple of weeks making it difficult to initially secure the bar prior to the venue.
2) The Wege Room was small for a ceremony space - the suggested max amount of people is 100 and I had just around 80 and it was FULL. It creates a very intimate setting for the ceremony, but there were moments that it seemed like we were on top of each other. Nadine was very helpful in setting up the space so we maxed out the space available, but I would not suggest it for parties over 80 people. We also had a string quartet on the stage.
Overall, I would suggest this venue for smaller weddings - it was gorgeous and exactly what I envisioned for the day.
The Knot is failing to upload any of my photos, but I can assure you they are amazing!
The team at St. Cecilia Music Center was an absolute pleasure to work with for our wedding. Their communication was quick, kind, and welcoming from the very first interaction. The ...
venue itself is truly elegant and beautiful, providing the perfect formal setting for our special day. They also provided my bridal party, and my grooms party each with a suite to get ready in. Nadine, the wedding coordinator, was incredibly helpful in keeping everything on schedule and organized behind the scenes. She provided a detailed packet to ensure all our vendors were aligned. We could not have asked for a better venue and team to bring our wedding vision to life. Highly recommend St. Cecilia Music Center!
Not only was St. Cecilia a beautiful venue but the staff (specifically Nadine) was wonderful to work with. We had both our ceremony and reception there. Our day was perfect and cou...
ldn't recommend a better venue!
We could not be more thrilled with the St. Cecilia Music Center team and space! NADINE (venue event coordinator) is so incredibly gracious and thoughtful, making sure every detail ...
is accounted for. Her communication is top tier, making me feel almost *too* at ease throughout the whole process, especially since I was planning a wedding living across the state. Getting married in a historic music venue, having everything in one building, and not worrying about weather was a recipe for greatness! I could not recommend this space more for it's beauty, value, and staff. I felt like this place is a BARGAIN compared to other venues in the area with similar accommodations. Do not hesitate to get married here!!!!
The venue was amazing! Our hostess was amazing. We had a late September wedding and our guests had plenty of space, parking was great and not an issue. The venue is very elegant an...
d ornate, but modern enough for our taste. We just loved it and we both were glad with our choice.
Let me start by saying how crazy this 2020-2021 wedding season has been for us all! I have hear horror stories about how sneaky and aggressive some venues can be just to make their...
bottom line. This was NOT our experience. Carla was so helpful from day one. She was laid back and knowledgeable about everything we had questions about. She was totally on top of our needs the entire time. I can't speak highly enough about her as a events manager. This venue wasn't my dream at first, but the more I walked around and saw the elegant beauty of the pianos and the architecture, it just started to feel perfect. As the year progressed and we got about 2 months away from our wedding date we were forced to make a decision to either go forward with 10 guests due to the indoor capacity restrictions, reschedule to a date in the future, or cancel our contract. They provided us with a Covid clause that allowed us to cancel our reservation for a FULL REFUND because it was Covid related. We got our check back and she was so sweet to wish us well and leave the option open to consider them for a 1 year anniversary reception someday. We are hoping to make this happen. I have no regrets and no stress associated with booking this venue. I trust them and would reccomend them to anyone who's on edge about good customer service. Thank you Carla and St Cecilia Music Center. We would have loved to work with you all the way up to the end.
This venue is an absolute dream to work with. Carla is so helpful and quick to reply, and they really went out of their way to help us with our wedding! We thought it would be impo...
ssible to plan anything during COVID-19, but Carla made sure we were always taken care of. I sincerely recommend this venue to anyone!!
Such an incredibly beautiful and unique venue!! My husband and I could not have been more impressed with the ease of the process to have our wedding here and how beautiful it was o...
n the day of. Carla, the event coordinator for St. Cecilia, was amazing and always so incredibly timely in her responses!
I 1000% recommend this hidden gem as your reception venue!!
Perfect venue for a wedding of less than 100 guests. The Dexter ballroom was perfect for our wedding. We had the ceremony and reception in the same room, and the staff at St. Cecil...
ia's helped us make the event seamless. They were very kind and helpful. And the location itself had so many possibilities for photos.
We chose St. Cecilia Music Center for our wedding venue for multiple reasons and we were not disappointed! First of all, St. Cecilia’s location is great for guests who are staying...
out of town, as well as traveling in for the day. There are many things to do in the Grand Rapids area and many places to stay. The ambience is fantastic - very classic and vintage feeling. We had our ceremony in the President’s Room and the reception in the Dexter Ballroom. Having both portions of our wedding celebration in one location was great and extremely convenient. The President’s Room provided an intimate ceremony experience and both rooms comfortably fit our approximately 100 guests.
Our contact person at St. Cecilia’s was Carla and she was very informative and helpful throughout the process. The majority of our communication was via email as we are from Chicago and Carla was very prompt in her replies. She was also very accommodating and it was possible for us to stop in to view the venue whenever we were in Grand Rapids, even meeting with our DJ at the venue prior to the event.
St. Cecilia’s provided an exceptional wedding experience at a very reasonable price!
This was exactly the type of place that I wanted to get married. The Mika Music Library is the room I used. It was perfect for my 70 guest wedding and it was just beautiful. There ...
is a fireplace (we stood in front of it) and a piano (available for use at no charge). They are really great about getting everything set up for you the day before in time for your rehearsals. Every other room is just as beautiful and unique, and also very affordable if you are on a budget.
We used this location for are ceremony and reception. The location was beautiful and the staff very helpful.
Absolutely gorgeous, with lots of character and charm. The Dexter Ballroom is elegant, full of natural light, and simply stunning. The staff were very helpful. The overall exper...
ience was wonderful.
St. Cecilia's is a beautiful venue to host in. The staff went above and beyond to serve my needs in preparation for my reception and you can't beat the price!
We had our ceremony at St. Cecilia, Dexter Ballroom. The place is simple yet the ambiance provides a solemn place for wedding ceremony and reception, they have ballroom options fo...
r big or smaller weddings. Carla, the event manager, was very helpful. As much as she could, she accomodates our requests, she make sure we have everything we need from them for our event. Overall, the place and services is great.
Contact
24 Ransom Ave NE, Grand Rapids, MI | Grand Rapids, Kent County
St. Cecilia Music Center